Whew. It's been an altogether busy week, in preparation for going live with Stalking the Job. I've been walking all around downtown Toronto - acquiring the requisite hardware, talking with print shop owners, and working out the myriad technical details of my job search scheme with my (incredibly supportive) friends, family and colleagues. However this turns out, I want all of you to know just how thankful I am to have you in my corner.
And now? Well, let's just say I'm ready to begin revealing the Big Idea to the world. See, it's no longer enough for a Motion Graphics Producer such as myself to have an ace demo reel to shop to prospective employers... nor is it sufficient to rely upon a standout CV to sell your skills and experience. Now before going any further, let me state for the record that both are important tools that are entirely necessary to the task of finding gainful employment, it's just that - once you've dispatched them into the aether, you can't ever be certain that you're actually engaging (or even reaching) your intended audience.
Let's assume your material makes it through to the appropriate parties. It can still be a "hit-and-miss" proposition as to whether your work makes the impact you're striving for, especially if you've fallen into the trap of forever trying to second-guess your audience. Your best efforts might meet with the glazed eye of someone unhappily reviewing their twenty-third demo reel of the morning - they may be distracted, they may be disinterested, or they may simply have a set of expectations that you, toiling away for hours on end, cannot possibly divine. Whatever the reason, your material in and of itself may simply not be sufficient to carry the day and earn you the opportunity. This is why I've chosen to chart new territory, to develop an innovative approach that not only can clearly demonstrate my skill and experience, but one that also shows prospective employers that I have the initiative, the self-confidence and the tenacity to see my strategy through, from fuzzy idea to the drawing-board to the world-at-large.
But rather than continuing to dance 'round the subject let's talk about it. Late last winter, I'd joked that if I didn't have any luck in my job search, I might try something along the lines of standing outside the entrance to Union Station during the morning and evening rush hours, clutching a tablet with my demo reel playing on a continuous loop. This got a few chuckles from some, but that idea lingered in the back of my mind as I continued to send out CVs and links to prospective employers for the remainder of the year. Of course, with only Employment Insurance as a revenue stream, I wasn't in a position to afford gadgets like an iPad or even a knock-off, but the idea kept coming back to me time and time again. I began asking myself, could I somehow manage to modify or develop this idea, without the use of a tablet? If I could, would such a gamble prove worthwhile?
One morning, while waiting at the corner of King & Sherbourne for a westbound streetcar, I happened to find myself staring absently at the window of a presentation centre for a new condo development. There, hanging in front of me, was an oversized QR code. Now, while I myself do not own a smartphone (getting one was just yet another one of those things on my 'to-do' list), I could see the possibilities suddenly opening up. I asked myself, could I generate a QR code for a YouTube video? As it happened, the answer was 'yes'. So, I now had a means by which I could direct people to a video online. But how best to go about directing people to it?
I considered having stickers printed up which I could then adhere to things like telephone poles or bus shelters, but I rejected that idea on the grounds that
a) it could reasonably be considered as vandalism, and
b) it's just too passive in terms of approach.
No, surely the way to see this through properly would be to take full ownership of it, to actually be there to press the flesh with interested passersby and engage them, personally. I considered then the old concept of the sandwich board. Equipped with a sandwich board, prominently featuring an oversized print of my QR code, I could become a walking billboard for my online video. The key appeared to me to be that I should be there, first-hand - ready, willing and able to discuss it at length should the need arise.
A QR code, on its' own, does not immediately trigger a need in people to scan it. Witness the QR code in the window of the presentation centre; it's a cool thing, sure. It's very up-to-date, and it's very tech-savvy. But it's not as though I was seeing people anxiously whip out their Blackberries to scan it and learn more. And why would that be the case?
Well, it's obvious to any and all that this QR code is specifically related to a condominium. It is a commercial QR code, linked to a high-end consumer item. Interested parties might indeed scan the presentation centre code, but most of people walking by aren't necessarily interested, and so continue on their way. I reasoned therefore that a "cryptic" QR code (one that, through omission of further information would leave its' purpose as an open-ended question) might actually generate greater interest from the public-at-large. Were I to include anything other than the QR code - my name, my profession... even the simple imperative, "scan here" - would be to either give too much away or to ask too much of the man (or woman) in the street.
My strategy therefore is to volunteer nothing (save the opportunity to learn more) while simultaneously asking nothing of those I encounter in my journeys. And earlier today, inside and outside of Toronto's historic St. Lawrence Market, I satisfied myself as to the efficacy of my strategy, and of the thinking that has gone into it.
After meeting up with Vince Vaitekunas (a colleague of mine who has been most supportive and helpful - even going so far as to actually help construct a lightweight but durable sandwich board) - I proceeded south along Jarvis St. to the Market. Everywhere along the way, people were stopping to stare as I ambled along. I could see people taking their phones from their jacket pockets. I could see drivers in their cars craning their necks in curiousity. Once at the Market, I was approached by a number of people all wondering what this was about. Some asked if I could help show them how to scan the code (you'll need an app), while others without smartphones tapped me on the shoulder to find out what they were missing. All in all, I felt it was quite a successful test-drive of my new strategy. With a bit of luck - and a lot of legwork - I'm hoping to put it to good use in my stated mission: Stalking the Job.
Make no mistake about it, though... as "mad schemes" go, this one is not for the timid or for the faint-of-heart. It will require me to be "on" at all times - on and ready to engage. And of course, it's a gamble; I could just as easily fall flat on my face as find gainful employment. In a sense it's a question of certainty versus the unknown. And if I wanted certainty, well... I suppose I would never have bothered trying in the first place. But that would make for a very dull blog indeed.
I'll see you around.
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